I just noticed how crowded the animation genre is going to be next year and decided to do a write-up to get some awareness out there. It’s almost a shame that some of these weren’t ready for this year because aside from Wall-E it’s been a pretty sparse year for Animation. Granted, Wall-E pretty much has the animation oscar in the bag so maybe it’s for the best that these movies fight it out next year. Here’s hoping they turn out as great as they look.
Up
Director: Pete Doctor (Monster’s Inc)
Plot Summary: In this “coming of old age” story, a seventysomething hero, alongside his clueless wilderness ranger sidekick, travels the globe, fighting beasts and villains, and eating dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Doug’s hype level: 5 out of 5 - It’s Pixar. By this point one pretty much expects greatness out of each new movie.
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
Director: Hayou Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro)
Plot Summary: An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human.
Doug’s hype level: 4 - I’d be more excited about this (it’s Miyazaki after all), but this one is definitely skewing young. Still, I really appreciate Kiki and Totoro so I’ll gladly watch it. Things are looking really good considering rave reviews are starting to pour in from the Venice Film Festival
The Princess and the Frog
Director(s): Ron Clements/John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules)
Plot summary: A fairy tale centered on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans’ French Quarter during the Jazz Age.
Doug’s hype level: 3 - On one hand I’m excited about Disney returning to 2D, but on the other hand the trailer was pretty disappointing. Still, I’m not one to judge until I see the final product, so I still have hope.
Coraline
Director: Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas)
Plot summary: Adapted from the Hugo Award-winning, internationally best-selling novel, Coraline is a spine-tingling tale about a curious girl who unlocks a mysterious door in her family’s new home and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality.
Doug’s hype level: 4 - I’m a big fan of Selick’s work and it’s apparently a popular story, so I’m really looking forward to this one.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Director: Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums)
Plot Summary: Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent and his family.
Doug’s hype level: 3 - I’m a proclaimed Anderson fanboy, but I don’t know what to think of his first venture into animation until I hear more about it.
A Christmas Carol
Director: Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump)
Plot Summary: An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Doug’s hype level: 3 - I’ve never cared much for the Christmas Carol story, but I’ve enjoyed most of Zemeckis’ films to date. If it’s as enjoyable as Beowulf I’ll be happy.
Frankenweenie
Director: Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Corpse Bride)
Plot Summary: Full-Length Animated remake of Tim Burton’s short film about a young boy who resurrects his beloved dog.
Doug’s hype level: 2 - I just watched the original short and was pleasantly surprised. However, I don’t see how it can be made into a full length film. I’ll wait and see the final product.
Astro Boy
Director: David Bowers (Flushed Away)
Plot Summary: When a scientist’s young son dies, he secretly creates a powerful robot child to replace him, however the robot uses it’s incredible powers to become a world famous super-hero, and faces his biggest challenge when an alien race threatens Earth…
Doug’s hype level: 2 - I like the Astro Boy story, but at this point my excitement for the movie is reserved.
Monsters vs. Aliens
Director(s): Rob Letterman/Conrad Vernon (Shark Tale, Shrek 2)
Plot Summary: When a meteorite from outer space hits a young girl and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years.
Doug’s hype level: 1 - I’m not a fan of Dreamworks animation efforts so far. But given the fact that Kung Fu Panda was surprisingly entertaining there’s always a chance this could be good. The solid voice talent is a start.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Director: Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age, Ice Age 2, Robots)
Doug’s hype level: 1 - I thought the first movie was ok, but it wasn’t good enough to keep me interested in the franchise. I haven’t even bothered to see the second film yet.
Other possible 2009 releases that don’t look as promising:
Escape From Planet Earth
The Smurfs
How to Train Your Dragon
Power of the Dark Crystal
Tortoise vs. Hare
The Water Warriors
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Wow, I had no idea all of these were on the horizon.
Pixar and Miyazaki obviously have my votes. Frankenweenie and Coroline are probably the other two that strike my interest the most. Everything else I’ll likely end up seeing on home video. Muppet Christmas Carol pretty much left all other variations obsolete in my book.
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:30 am
Hey great site. Coraline is not animated, but is rather stop motion stereoscopic 3D. In fact many of next years animations are also in 3D. Stop by my blog for a complete list of upcoming 3D movies - http://www.marketsaw.com
Best!
-jim
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Caleb - I really need to check out the Muppet Christmas Carol. I saw bits and pieces of it when it first came out, but I think I’d appreciate it more now and would love to see it all the way through.
Jim - Thanks for checking out my blog and taking the time to comment. I already knew that Coraline was stop motion 3D. I know there’s a big difference between 2D animation, 3D animation and Stop Motion, but I consider them all part of the animation genre.
June 14th, 2009 at 12:40 am
Look at this….
Sweet site dude, check out mine when you get a min……